Pediatric Diabetes – Caring for a Diabetic Child
By Min Zhu
Min Zhu, and author and mother, provides information on diabetic children. For more information, visit http://mominneed.com/health/diabetes/
Despite our best efforts as parents or caregivers, children will become sick. One such illness which is becoming increasingly prevalent is pediatric diabetes. However, keeping a diabetic child healthy is dependent on being informed about the disease, its symptoms, and treatments. Caring for the child with diabetes is the responsibility of all persons who, at some time or other, has to take care of that child. As such, parents need to ensure that all care givers are informed about their diabetic child’s dietary needs.
Most children tend to have type I diabetes, previously known as juvenile diabetes, although children are increasingly being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes as well. Type I diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not work and does not produce any insulin. Insulin is needed to help break down sugars (glucose) in our body to help it work efficiently. When this breakdown of sugars does not happen, as in the case of type I diabetes, the sugar stays in the blood stream.
Because insulin is important in breaking down sugars in the body to use for energy, insulin has to be taken to control the illness. Therefore type I diabetes is also called insulin-dependent diabetes. Exercise and diet are also important helping to control this type of diabetes. Caring for the child with diabetes means that you will need to recognize the signs of the illness, as well as any resulting reactions that can occur. The main signs of pediatric diabetes are:
Breath smelling like fruit
Constant hunger
Pulse beating faster than normal
Headaches
Being weak and dizzy
Difficulty concentrating
Vision becoming foggy
Skin tending to be cold and moist
Experiencing seizures
Next, you should be able to identify when the child is in crisis, suffering either a hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic episode, and you should know what to do help in either case. Hyperglycemia occurs when the sugar levels are too high. Rising sugar levels are generally a result of eating too much, not taking the correct amount of insulin, or not exercising enough. When a child is hyperglycemic, treatment by medical professionals is needed. A child suffering from high blood sugar will complain of the following:
Weakness
Extreme thirst
Needing to urinate frequently
Not seeing clearly
Not being hungry
With hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), the symptoms vary from child to child, but some of the typical signs include:
Clumsiness
Sudden mood changes
Sweating
Hunger
Seeming confused
Trembling
Headache
Tingling feeling around the mouth
The first course of action is to increase the child’s sugar intake by giving them something sweet to drink, such as regular soda, fruit juice or glucose tablets. Once the child is feeling better, you should give them something more solid to eat. If the child is too weak to swallow or is unconscious, administer the recommended dosage of glucagon and call for immediate medical assistance. Glucagon is a medication given by injection to rapidly increase the level of glucose in the blood. It is normally the first course of treatment in severe hypoglycemia.
Diet is a major part of keeping the diabetic child healthy. The caregiver has the responsibility to ensure that the child eats what is recommended. It is also important to talk with the child and let them know that they will get really sick if they eat too many sweets or other foods that can pose a risk. It is also important to let others, such as teachers, know that a diabetic child may need to snack to boost their sugar and energy levels. The child with diabetes must also have regular meals.
Exercise is important as well, and there is no reason why the diabetic child cannot participate in all regular physical activity. Exercise helps to control blood sugar levels. However, suffering from pediatric diabetes should not exert themselves before meal time. Also, they will need to have a snack, such as juice, crackers or a fruit, handy, as they will need to replace sugar lost during physical activity.
Most importantly, children should be taught how to test their blood sugar levels during the course of the day, once they are able to do soon their own. This is important so that they can take insulin or eat something as needed.
Caring for the diabetic child, while calling for more vigilance in terms of their eating habits can be stress free once you and others taking care of the child know what to do and follow the rules. Also, make sure that emergency numbers are close at hand and that the child learns how to recognize symptoms of potential trouble and take corrective actions.
Source: Min Zhu
Why Do We Need the Glycemic Index?
By Jimmy Woodall
Posted July 16, 2009
Jim Woodall has 49years business exp. is an affiliate marketer. problems with Diabetes? visit his Glycemic website for much helpful info located onsite at http://jwoodl.com/glycemic also get three free ebooks located at http://freegiveaways.jwoodl.com/index.html no obligation
The Glycemic Index is a concept developed in the University of Toronto in 1981. The purpose of the Glycemic Index is to measure the effect carbohydrates have on blood glucose levels. The Glycemic Index is imperative for anyone who needs to monitor their glucose level due to diabetes or hyperglycemia.
With diabetes reaching more than epidemic levels in the United States, the development of the Glycemic Index could not have been introduced at a better time. Each year, more people are diagnosed with this potentially life threatening disease that can cause all sorts of serious complications. It is very important for anyone who has this condition to become familiar with the Glycemic Index so they can empower themselves and learn foods that should be avoided.
Carbohydrates are a diverse group of foods and all break down in different ways in the system. People with diabetes have a difficult time breaking down certain foods, particularly those high in carbohydrates, in their system. Digestion is slow and sugars and starches are absorbed into the blood stream, causing an excess in blood glucose.
Diabetics are often warned to limit their carbohydrate intake because it takes a long time for most carbohydrates to digest. However, this is easier said than done and it is not easy, in fact almost impossible, for many diabetics to eliminate carbohydrates from their diet. This is one of the reasons many diabetics are non-compliant in their treatment. Because diabetes does not often cause serious complications at onset, many patients refuse to take their medicine and continue eating foods that are high in sugar and starch.
The Glycemic Index is very helpful because it rates different carbohydrates based upon their effect on the different levels of blood glucose. Those foods that digest rapidly cause the less harm to the system and have a low glycemic index. The carbohydrates that take a longer time to digest have a higher rate as they cause more harm to the blood glucose level.
The Glycemic Index ranges from one to one hundred. A low food in the glycemic index has a rating of below 55. These include fruits, vegetables, whole grains and some pastas. Foods that fall between the 56 to 69 range are considered “medium” in the Glycemic Index. They include candy bars, croissants and some rices.
Surprisingly, although a candy bar scores in the medium classification of the glycemic index, it is not as harmful as those carbohydrates that score in the high glycemic index range. These include corn flakes, white rice, white bread and baked potato. In other words, it is easier for a diabetic to digest a candy bar than a baked potato.
Knowledge of the glycemic index is imperative for anyone who has diabetes or who has been diagnosed as borderline diabetic. To be able to understand which foods have the most impact on blood glucose levels is crucial for anyone fighting this potentially life-threatening condition.
If you or a loved one suffers from diabetes, you need to get familiar with the Glycemic Index so that you learn about the different categories of carbohydrates and which groups should be avoided. There are many substitutes for carbohydrates that rate high in the Glycemic Index and are available at most grocery stores. While diabetes is currently without a cure, there are many different ways that people with this disease can live long, productive lives.
Source: Jimmy Woodall
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